Have you noticed the cluster of "For Sale" signs on homes as you head toward the sharp curve where Bond Avenue becomes Timber Grove? Or have you noticed that the once well-maintained Tree Farm is now in disarray or noticed the crudely wrought signage imploring no one specific to "Save the Trees"? That 1.94-acre parcel was sold by owner Helen Neuhauser to Baltimore County on May 28, 2010, for the tidy sum of $300,000. Plans are to erect a 150-foot-high, 2-million-gallon water tank on the grounds.

A week before the Polar Bear Plunge at Sandy Point State Park was canceled because of high winds and freezing temperatures, a hardy group of North County folks took their own dip into frigid water. On Jan. 18, some 15 members of Ravens Roost 99 plunged into a pool outside of A-Town Bar and Grille on Brick Store Road in Hampstead, where they meet each month. And like those who were scheduled to jump into the Chesapeake Bay, the Ravens Roost 99 men and women raised money for Special Olympics Maryland.

A week before the Polar Bear Plunge at Sandy Point State Park was canceled because of high winds and freezing temperatures, a hardy group of North County folks took their own dip into frigid water. On Jan. 18, some 15 members of Ravens Roost 99 plunged into a pool outside of A-Town Bar and Grille on Brick Store Road in Hampstead, where they meet each month. And like those who were scheduled to jump into the Chesapeake Bay, the Ravens Roost 99 men and women raised money for Special Olympics Maryland.

Phoenix-based Altius Broadband said Tuesday that it had signed a contract to begin construction on a wireless broadband service network in four eastern Kentucky counties. The company will work with the Breathitt, Estill, Lee, and Powell Regional Technology Authority on the project. Altius won a request for proposal to build out the broadband network in the rural areas of Breathitt, Estill, Lee and Powell counties, according to a statement. The contract allows the construction phase of the project to begin.

The Carroll Planning Commission has worked out a compromise that will allow construction to begin on a long-proposed 57-home development off Route 32 near Gamber. The point of contention was a 4,300-foot road ending in a cul-de-sac that will serve as the main access to many of the homes in the Lakeland Heights development. Gamber Fire Department officials had said they might have trouble getting water to homes at the end of the road. The commission allayed those concerns by requiring the developer to build a 30,000-gallon water tank from which firefighters would be able to run lines to any property on the 203-acre site.

Even as Harford Memorial Hospital officials said they acted properly in handling four cases of Legionnaires' disease, family members of a woman who died of the disease complained yesterday that the hospital delayed telling them about the infection.Evelyn Blakely, daughter of Elizabeth M. Cox, 79, said the family was not notified when Cox was diagnosed with Legionnaires' disease July 2. They were not told that she had the disease until Thursday -- two days after she died from the disease, Blakely said.

The Hampstead Town Council has decided to place a half-million-gallon water tank at North Carroll Middle School, cutting land costs for the project that is needed to relieve water-pressure problems.Councilman Lawrence H. Hentz Jr. outlined the pluses and minuses of six possible sites for the new tank at a recent council meeting and public hearing, then recommended the site near the entrance to the school on Route 30, near the North Carroll Community Pond.The tank is needed because water pressure at the north end of town is low and might hamper firefighters.

Along a road in Wamunyu, Kenya, sits a water tank with a sign that reads: "This tank was built with funds from Southern MS, Lothian, MD, USA. " During the Thanksgiving holiday, Southern Middle School teacher Laura Groo visited the East African country to see the water tank firsthand and relish the fruits of a school read-a-thon project last year that raised more than $3,000 to finance the tank. The read-a-thon was so successful that there were funds left over, which were used to buy gym equipment for Kyamatula Primary School, where the water tank is located.

A water tank capable of storing a million gallons will be built soon in Mount Airy to give the town wells time to rest and refill, the town engineer said. After engineer Gary Pozzouli recommended the low bidder among four companies, the Town Council chose the $1.4 million bid by Landmark Structures Inc. of Texas on Monday night. The tank is to be completed early next year, Pozzouli said. He told the council it is essential to begin this month with drawings and design to get ready for "the concrete work, the weather-sensitive work."

Hydrant mishap depletes water supplyMore than half the water in Manchester's town water tank was lost within minutes after a car knocked over a fire hydrant last week, said Steven L. Miller, the town's superintendent of water and waste water.Mr. Miller said the Main Street hydrant, which was hit Jan. 26, lost 80,000 to 100,000 gallons of water in 45 minutes.The town's water tank holds 150,000 gallons.Mr. Miller said the town's water supply is not threatened unless the the tank and water system are emptied.

Have you noticed the cluster of "For Sale" signs on homes as you head toward the sharp curve where Bond Avenue becomes Timber Grove? Or have you noticed that the once well-maintained Tree Farm is now in disarray or noticed the crudely wrought signage imploring no one specific to "Save the Trees"? That 1.94-acre parcel was sold by owner Helen Neuhauser to Baltimore County on May 28, 2010, for the tidy sum of $300,000. Plans are to erect a 150-foot-high, 2-million-gallon water tank on the grounds.

Along a road in Wamunyu, Kenya, sits a water tank with a sign that reads: "This tank was built with funds from Southern MS, Lothian, MD, USA. " During the Thanksgiving holiday, Southern Middle School teacher Laura Groo visited the East African country to see the water tank firsthand and relish the fruits of a school read-a-thon project last year that raised more than $3,000 to finance the tank. The read-a-thon was so successful that there were funds left over, which were used to buy gym equipment for Kyamatula Primary School, where the water tank is located.

Rotary International has awarded a $17,000 matching grant to the Rotary Clubs of Greater Severna Park and Nairobi Industrial in Kenya to provide a Kenyan primary school with furniture, sports equipment, uniforms, health camps and a 2,500-gallon water tank for collecting rainwater. Kenya Connect, a nonprofit based in Silver Spring, is assisting the Rotarians. Kenya Connect has raised over $117,000 through the efforts of schoolchildren in the United States, resulting in water tanks, classroom renovations, solar-powered learning resource centers, fences, uniforms and sports equipment for impoverished schools in Wamunyu, Kenya.

In case of emergency, the Hewitt home in western Howard County is prepared. The 18,000-square-foot home has 32 fire detectors, wall-mounted fire hoses hooked into the plumbing, a phone in each of the 11 bedrooms, a circuit breaker box plus two flashlights on each of the four floors, 12 sets of emergency lights and a 100,000-watt, diesel-fueled generator. And by December, owner Lee Hewitt Jr. is hoping to install the biggest piece of his home protection system: a 20,000-gallon underground water tank in front of his Cooksville mansion for use in the event of fire.

Public meetings on comprehensive plan Carroll County has scheduled grassroots gatherings for residents to get involved in the comprehensive plan. The Pathways Web site (carrollpathways.org) includes a calendar of community meetings associated with the plan. Agendas for the meetings are available by clicking on the specific community meeting on the "Calendar" section of the Web site. All meetings begin at 6:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. This week's meetings include: Freedom: tomorrow, Century High School media center.

The town of New Windsor received a $10,000 holiday bonus because it settled for its second color choice. Town officials selected from a color chart for their new 375,000- gallon water tank, Mayor Sam M. Pierce said. They wanted sky blue but got white. "When the color choice went out, nobody looked at it, I guess," Pierce said. To reorder a tank in blue, he said, would mean "they would have had to stop [work] and send it back and bring us another one in. It would take four to six weeks."

Two developers hoping to build single-family homes in the New Windsor area are in disagreement about how water should be supplied to their respective sites and who should pay for it.Mike Sponseller, who is digging a well for his Atlee Ridge development, said he does not want to pay for use of the water tank the New Windsor Partnership must build for its Blue Ridge Manor homes, because his development does not need it."I don't want to pay for a water tank for half of their lots," Mr. Sponseller told the New Windsor Town Council Wednesday night.

Q: I want to do an inexpensive weekend project with my children to show them how to save money by conserving resources. What is the simplest and cheapest solar water heater I can build myself from scratch?A: The simplest and cheapest solar water heater is a "breadbox" design. Using common materials, lumber, insulation and an old, discarded water heater tank from a plumber, it should not cost more than $80 to build. A simple, do-it-yourself, breadbox solar water heater can reduce annual water heating costs by 20percent.

The Mount Airy Town Council has adopted a new master plan, intended to map the town's future for the next six years by maintaining its character while accepting that the south Carroll County area will continue to grow in the foreseeable future. Among the changes to the plan are a community-commercial zoning designation for downtown, a provision for historic tourism to be added to its historic preservation and downtown revitalization section, voluntary architectural guidelines that have not yet been drafted, and a recommendation to create a tax-credit program for preservation projects.

A water tank capable of storing a million gallons will be built soon in Mount Airy to give the town wells time to rest and refill, the town engineer said. After engineer Gary Pozzouli recommended the low bidder among four companies, the Town Council chose the $1.4 million bid by Landmark Structures Inc. of Texas on Monday night. The tank is to be completed early next year, Pozzouli said. He told the council it is essential to begin this month with drawings and design to get ready for "the concrete work, the weather-sensitive work."